Manitoba’s potential economic growth is riding on boosting trade, and that relies on the roads and highways to move people and goods, MHCA President Chris Lorenc told a business gathering with Premier Brian Pallister and his cabinet ministers Wednesday.
That core infrastructure investment must start with a strategy – allowing rollout of investment over multi-year budgets – and a highways budget that recognizes other provinces are gearing up for new trade-deal opportunities opening up for Canada, Lorenc told the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce Ministers Dinner.
“An infrastructure asset-management plan values our transportation infrastructure for the long-term investment that it is,” Lorenc said. “It ensures we won’t hit the ditch, that we won’t get left behind as other provinces move to get their people to work and goods to market.”
The MHCA had five members of its Board of Directors at the dinner, which saw the Premier and cabinet ministers moving to new tables for each course of the meal. The MHCA was a sponsor, giving it opportunity to speak from the podium and place materials at the table settings.
Lorenc congratulated the Premier on the throne speech, which focused on a provincial economic development plan and moving along the Winnipeg Metro Region’s transportation strategy for the Capital Region.
Transportation and core infrastructure investment is an economic imperative, he noted, because it has high-value returns to the GDP.
“What is the return on investment? I could cite a container ship of statistics, percentages, dollar signs. But let’s just say this: The evident impact of the economic growth triggered by core infrastructure investment is immediately felt in the local economy – people’s incomes go up, sense of job security rises, they buy things, they improve their property,” Lorenc said.
“Almost as immediately, the provincial treasury sees the returns – besides PST revenues, it will see income taxes from workers, from businesses and corporations.
“Manitoba’s goal for an expanded national, continental and global trade profile rides on this.”
The address at the Ministers Dinner coincides with the advertising the MHCA, joined by Merit Contractors Association, has launched this month to highlight the damage that cuts to the provincial highways capital budget have done to Manitoba’s economy. In 2016, Manitoba’s highways investment was $628 million; this year it was budgeted at $350 million and the industry has been told it will remain at that level in 2019/20.
Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler released Manitoba Infrastructure’s construction tender advertising schedule at the MHCA’s Awards Breakfast Friday, November 16. Please see Page 2 for the details.
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